WAUKESHA, Wisc. — The Waukesha Christmas parade was going on just a block away from the Craft Lounge on Main Street. As chaos erupted on Sunday, many used the bar to seek shelter. But on Thursday, the community used the space to heal.

Finding room to give thanks after Sunday's tragic events might seem unimaginable for those in Waukesha, but despite it all, gratitude filled the air as people came together at the Craft Lounge. Many brought their own Thanksgiving dish to contribute.

Fairuza Jones and her mother carried in a turkey. Her son and husband were downtown at the parade on Sunday.

"My son was downtown when everything happened and my heart goes out to all families, you know, that lost a loved one or had somebody injured," Jones said.

Jones' son is only 6 years old and thankfully was unharmed. Today, she is grateful her loved ones are alive.

The Friendsgiving event was originally a private party that Tony Davis was organizing for his friends.

"I had a lot of friends that don't have family members to spend the holiday with," Davis said. "When everything on Sunday happened, that's when plans changed."

While Davis wasn't at the parade, he has still felt every bit of pain and loss that many in his Waukesha community are experiencing.

"It's tough driving down that street and seeing the areas where you know certain things occurred and happened," he said. "Now more than ever, we really want people to understand, whether you were here at the parade, you witnessed things live or you saw it on the news, we're all grieving together and we need an avenue for us to be able to heal together."

Together, he believes the community can build back.

In just 48 hours, Davis was able to gather over $3,000 of donated gifts to be auctioned off. He says all of the proceeds will be donated to the United Waukesha Fund.

"When you have that kind of outreach in such a short time it's truly a testament to what makes Waukesha strong," he said.

This story was originally published by Jessica Madhukar on Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

WAUKESHA, Wis. —

Warning: The above video contains footage that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

An SUV driver sped through a police line and into a parade of Christmas marchers on Sunday, injuring 29 people in a horrifying scene captured by the city’s livestream and the cellphones of onlookers.

Waukesha police Chief Dan Thompson said “some” people had been killed but would not give an exact number. A person was in custody, he said, but did not give any indication of a motive.

One video shows a woman screaming, “Oh my God!” repeatedly after a group of girls wearing Santa hats and dancing with white pompoms is struck. Another shows the SUV plowing into members of a marching band, their music replaced with terrified screams

Police also had custody of the vehicle, Thompson said. The investigation was ongoing.

As the SUV broke through barricades, a Waukesha police officer fired his gun in an attempt to stop the vehicle, Thompson said. No bystanders were injured and Thompson said he did not know if the driver was struck by the officer's bullets.

One video shows the moment the SUV broke through the barricades and the sound of what appears to be several gunshots.

The video taken when the pompom dancers got struck ends with a group of people tending to one of the girls who is on the ground.

Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school district board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his daughter’s dance team was hit by the SUV.

“They were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” he said. “My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.”

One entry in the parade, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, posted on its Facebook page that “members of the group and volunteers were impacted and we are waiting for word on their conditions.” The post asked people to keep the Grannies and anyone else injured in their prayers. The group’s profile describes them as a “group of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter parades.”

Chris Germain, co-owner of the Aspire Dance Center studio, had about 70 girls in the parade ranging from as young as 2 being pulled in wagons to age 18. Germain, whose own 3-year-old daughter was in the parade, said he was driving at the head of their entry when he saw a maroon SUV that “just blazed right past us.” A police officer came by on foot chasing after, he said. Germain said he jumped out of his own SUV and gathered the girls who were with him.

“There were small children laying all over the road, there were police officers and EMTs doing CPR on multiple members of the parade," he said.

Angelito Tenorio, a West Allis alderman who is running for Wisconsin state treasurer, said he was watching the parade with his family when they saw the SUV come speeding into the area.

“Then we heard a loud bang,” Tenorio said. “And after that, we just heard deafening cries and screams from the crowd, from the people at the parade. And people started rushing, running away with tears in their eyes crying.”

The Waukesha school district canceled classes Monday and said in a notice on its website that extra counselors would be on hand for students and staff. The parade’s list of entries included cheer, dance and band entries associated with district schools.

Gov. Tony Evers said he and his wife, Kathy, were “praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids, families, and community members affected by this senseless act.”

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, who was at the parade but left just before the incident, called it “an unspeakable tragedy, affecting us all as we work to overcome an extremely challenging two years and resume our cherished holiday traditions.”

The parade is sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. This year’s edition was the 59th of the event that’s held each year the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.